With this rise of digital streaming came user accounts and monthly subscriptions to your favorite content. Users sharing their passwords for these services has become a hotly debated issue – is it stealing to let others use your password for Netflix and other services, or is it as harmless as letting a friend borrow a DVD overnight?

The Demographic

Before we start, a quick word on the survey respondents: I shared the survey on my own Facebook/Twitter pages and in a few groups for students at my university (thanks to everyone who participated!).

84 people took the survey, and the vast majority were in the 18-24 age group as shown below. 64 of them (76.2%) indicated they were college students and the other 23.8% weren’t. Finally, the respondents were split 56%/44% male and female, respectively.

Because my two sisters and I are splitting the cost of Netflix so we all share the password. Also I gave it to my fiance.

I wanted to show someone a test drive of how useful the program is.

Gave [Amazon] password for a few days to order a product, then changed shortly after.

I don’t want too many people on my profile messing up my settings, etc. Also, my parents pay for the services.

I’ve never given my password, but I have logged in on my account on my friends’ computers for them to use temporarily. It’s temporary for Netflix because once so many devices are logged onto the account, it pushes the oldest login off.

Our family shares passwords to use streaming services that my parents pay for. Also, I usually only give my roommate my streaming passwords so that we can watch shows together.

Love means never having to say 'Can I share your Netflix password?' ??

Overall, it seems that most people share their password either permanently with family or close friends, or temporarily so someone can demo a service. Respondents also weighed in on why they’ve used someone else’s password:

Sometimes necessary for troubleshooting.

Nine of us girls live in a house together. We use one Netflix password for the TV that we all share.

I don’t know if this is wrong because it was for the family and I am not home anymore.

I don’t ask for passwords, and I don’t give mine out.

It was my brother’s account and he never used it.

Spotify, to access music for an event when the other person could not give their computer.

Is Sharing Wrong?

Now I asked the big question: Is sharing Netflix passwords with others wrong? This was the first time that the answers astounded me, as I expected many more people to say Yes:

There are too many interesting explanations to share, but here are some of the given reasons:

I feel it is okay to share with someone trusted who will not abuse it.

While sharing with friends or others is stealing, sharing with immediate family members is justifiable.

If I’m paying for a subscription that allows me to watch on multiple devices, who says they have to all be mine?

Lending to a friend encourages them to buy their own subscription down the road.

The subscription is being paid for. Netflix only allows so many devices to be logged in at once, so when you pay them you are paying to have that access.

I’m fine with this “sharing” if you’re sitting down and watching the show or movie together as friends or family. However, giving someone your password implies they are using your account without you present for their private recreation, which I’m against.

One or two people is fine, more than that is abusing the system.

If it’s to test drive, then it supports the company. If it’s for long term, it’s stealing.

Don't ever share your Netflix password. Now I have a queue of WWII shows, movies and documentaries.

Netflix allows you to have 4 accounts and you cannot use it on more than 3 devices at the same time. Thus it seems that Netflix expects at least more than one person to be using it.

The general consensus seems to be that Neflix wouldn’t have a feature for multiple users unless they planned for more than one person to use an account. However, this then raises the question of who should be allowed to make a profile on your account; family in your house, or friends who don’t want to make their own account? It depends on your view.

On one hand, you’re “wasting” some of the potential of the account if you’re only using it on a single device at once, but on the other hand you could consider people outside your family not eligible to use the account.

Personalizing the question a bit, I asked if people would share their password with their best friend.

Some users offered thoughts on this:

This seems similar to lending a movie that you own to someone. You let them watch the movie that they wanted to watch even though they do not own it. I would not let my friend use my Netflix consistently unless she chipped in for some of the cost and she could have her own profile on my account.

I wouldn’t want them messing up my suggestions.

If they didn’t want to help pay for the subscription I wouldn’t want them just mooching off a service I pay for.

Probably not. I’d try and find another solution. Frequently, I find it’s a simple matter of access, rather than a disinclination to spend money…. I often find that people are willing to digitally rent a movie (Amazon, etc.) upon the recommendation – they just don’t think about the option.

I don’t think either one is stealing, but the Costco scenario definitely feels worse to me. Probably because physical goods are involved, and Costco absorbs some of the cost of lower prices through their memberships.

Both can be stealing — the Netflix subscription if the person uses it to avoid a fee he otherwise might have paid, and the card if your friend uses it to shop.

If it’s not a regular occurrence it is okay. If it is a regular occurrence I would consider it stealing.

Again, you could make either argument here. If a friend wants to make a trip to Costco with your membership, they’re still making money off his purchases. However, there’s a reason that Costco requires a membership, and breaking that rule is violating the agreement you made when you signed up.

Situational Ethics

I lastly asked the survey takers in which situations they would consider sharing a password. Most consider sharing with a significant other, roommate, or friend an acceptable practice:

A few rationalizations:

The only scenario I am comfortable with is sharing passwords with immediate family members in the same household, who might be using the same subscription to access TV.

Significant others usually share many things, including bank accounts. So I would not argue to sharing Netflix with my significant other. If you consider sharing a password with your significant other stealing, you must also consider a whole family sharing a Netflix account stealing.

Yes folks, someone had the audacity to not share their Netflix password with me. You think you know someone… #venting

What Say You?

Clearly, sharing passwords is still a divisional topic. One extreme holds that as long as you’re paying for the account, it’s yours to share with whom you please. The other side argues that outside of people in your household, sharing Netflix access for any length of time is wrong. If you’re in the middle, it depends on who you’re sharing access with and how long you’ll be sharing.

Netflix has to know that people do this regularly, and they’ll adjust the subscription price as they see fit. It’s the case of the Categorical Imperative – if one or two people share a password it’s no big deal, but if everyone acted on this rule Netflix prices would likely skyrocket.

In the end, each company has their own way of responding to this issue. Spotify only lets you stream with your account on a single device at any one time, Amazon Prime sharing doesn’t include any benefits except shipping, and even Netflix has limits on how many users can use an account at once. Whether this is stealing depends on your view of the content that you’ve paid for, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

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EJ

May 6, 2018 at 6:53 pm

I've looked at a dozen articles about this and the single thing missing in all of them is lack of integrity in sharing. I had to get Netflix from Netflix because the "shared" fools on the account I had in Thailand, Canada, and England watched on my account so much that all their stupid vampire, war, and childish movies wound up in my queue and my recommendations were always for some super hero crap, etc.

The same has been with Hulu. So many people were watching I couldn't get on for days. This is a reflection of the 18-24 yo crowd who don't give a damn about others!!

This is a great point that I didn't consider when writing this article. I guess Netflix's multiple profiles could help with this, but it's definitely something that sucks for the people who share the account with others.

I looked through the terms of service, and it doesn't look to me like Netflix prohibits sharing your account. It just has terms such as majority of use has to be within your account's country, and it's not for commercial use and not for public performances.

So, if it had terms saying "individual use only" or even "family use only" or "those residing in a single household" then it would be wrong to share an account/password outside of those restrictions. But without those restrictions, go ahead!

Sharing my password with others is wrong, so I don't share my Spotify password with anyone.
Since you only pay a fixed amount of money for the whole Spotify music library, I think it would be fair if friends/family members pay for their own subscription.
Streaming services are very cheap and pretty much everyone can afford them.
The Costco analogy is flawed - When you shop at Costco (or similar) you don't pay a fixed amount, but the amount varies depending on the number of items you buy.

Right, but Costco also requires you to pay for a membership in order to enjoy their bulk purchases and lower prices. If you didn't pay for the membership yet use someone else's card, you're enjoying the benefits without paying the cost.

Ben is a Deputy Editor at MakeUseOf. He holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Grove City College, where he graduated Cum Laude and with Honors in his major. He enjoys helping others and is passionate about video games as a medium.